Equifax Data Breach

The Equifax Data Breach

Consumers in Georgia are still mulling their legal options after a surprise September 2017 announcement that hackers had stolen the personal information of about 145 million people, which is about half the U.S. population, from the credit reporting giant.

The sheer size and scope of the data breach makes other large security hacks, like the ones that recently occurred at Home Depot and Target, pale in comparison. But even more disturbingly, Equifax company officials knew for several months that their software was vulnerable to attack, and they did nothing to correct the problems while hackers helped themselves to Social Security numbers, credit card account numbers, and other such data. As a final insult, rather than alert the victims immediately, Equifax first attempted to sell credit monitoring services to hacked accountholders; the company buried a lawsuit waiver deep in the fine print.

Consumer groups have pressured lawmakers to address the situation, but Rep. Greg Walden (R-OR) said that may not be a good option. “I don’t think we can pass a law that fixes stupid,” he said.

Lawmakers may not be able to act, but lawyers can. Lawsuits can be filed and have been filed. If Equifax lost your private data, contact an attorney to discuss your options.